Iron in India: History and Historiography

Iron in India: History and Historiography presents a transdisciplinary narrative aimed at a reconstruction of the history of Indian iron before its industrial production. This book looks at the pre-industrial period with a two-fold perspective: by understanding the material culture that has survived through the passage of time, and by examining the process through which historians have discovered, interacted, and interpreted those trails of the past. This book includes a detailed discussion on a new set of evidence unearthed in the recent years and examines diverse historical explanations/narratives such as the pre-colonial penchant for 'superior quality of Indian iron', details on Indian iron as a part of systematic knowledge production during the colonial period, and post-colonial interpretations of the subject mostly guided by colonial framework. It also highlights the nature of settlement dynamics with regards to the production and use of iron, thus establishing a meaningful synergy between archaeological findings and historical discourses.